Remembrance Day

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Remembrance Day and Veterans Day are both on November 11th each year.

In the United States, it is Veterans Day. Originally called Armistice Day, it is a public holiday to honor military veterans. The formal end of World War I came when an armistice was signed with Germany at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. This became the annual celebration of Armistice Day, and in the USA it was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

Veterans Day is different from Memorial Day because it honors the service of all military veterans, while Memorial Day remembers those who died in service. Armed Forces Day is another day set aside to honor those currently serving.

Thank you to all veterans for your service!

A few years ago, I actually got flamed on Facebook because I posted something about honoring the memory of those who died while serving their country. I appreciate the distinction made between Veterans Day and Memorial Day in the United States, but I grew up in Canada, where Armistice Day became known as Remembrance Day. I've had to remind well-meaning defenders of Veterans Day that in other parts of the world, it is indeed very appropriate to remember the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in service to their country.

Throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Remembrance Day has been observed since 1919, and is set aside to remember those in the armed forces who died in the line of duty. Especially in Canada and the United Kingdom, it's customary to wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance. A poem written by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae was the inspiration for this emblem. Macrae served and fought in the Flanders region of Belgium during World War I, and composed the poem after seeing how quickly the poppies grew up around the graves of his friends and comrades buried at Ypres. Real poppies were worn at first, beginning at a memorial ceremony held in 1921 and this tradition spread throughout the Commonwealth within just three years.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
~In Flanders Fields, John McCrae

Red Poppy by KAT, 2015

In Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and some other Commonwealth nations, it is traditional practice to hold a moment of silence at the eleventh hour. At many ceremonies, "Last Post" is played before the silence, and is followed by the sounding of "Reveille" or "The Rouse". A recitation of one of the poems composed to remember the fallen is often included. Wreaths are laid to honor the fallen, national anthems may be played, and sometimes a stylized night vigil is held.

 

2018 marks the one hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Armistice.

Honor the legacy and memory of those who gave their lives in service. 

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